How long do you have?

[Christine N.]

Here's a question that popped into my overtired head last night - how long do you think a book has once it hits the shelves before interest wanes? Six months? A year?

I have a few appearances lined up for my book next month, hopefully more to come in the New Year. Yes, I've written another book (two, actually) but its fate has not yet been decided, so it would be at least another year or two before that one (if all goes well) would come out.

How long do I have to milk this book before no body cares anymore? :)

[AdamH]

Depends.

If the book really touches a cord with people out there (see the DaVinci Code or Harry Potter), it could be years.

And it depends on the advertising and positioning of the book in bookstores. If it stays on the bookstores "Recommendations" shelf or bestsellers shelf instead of being buried in a section, the buzz could hang around as long as it's in the reader's eye.

[Garpy]

I would say it varies from by genre.

If it's scifi/fantasy, I think you probably have a much longer window, than if it's marketed as mainstream.

Thrillers (my genre) tend to have quite a short period....I'd say 4-5 months, in which you'll do most of your sales, then it's just a steady trickle.

[scribbler1382]

I'd say that unless you're a "name" or your book picks up "buzz" or hits the top ten list for whatever reason, the timespan in the public consciousness is considerably shorter than some of the estimates given here. I think you can regionally prop up the lifespan with marketing, PR and appearances; but you can only be in so many places at once. And, of course, a lot depends on your publisher and what they're willing to provide. I know that Joe Konrath actually got in trouble for making too many appearances at bookstores for his book Bloody Mary. He still did it anyway, but they kept getting sore at him.

[Mike Coombes]

It would rather depend, I suspect, on how good the book is, regardless of genre.

Gulliver's Travels seems to still be going strong. As does Moby Dick, amongst many others.

[Elijah Phoenix]

It won't sell unless it's about gangstas,Ho's and pimps.

When the video comes out, just be sure to have as many naked ho's as possible. Lot's of bling.

Ya gotta appeal to the masses ya know.

[maestrowork]

I think a year or two would still be good.

[Jamesaritchie]

Unless your book takes off, it probably has no more than three months in hardcover, and three to four weeks in paperback. That's about how long bookstores stock books that don't take off, and once the books are gone from the bookstores, it's unlikely anything good will happen to them.

[DivaNicoletta]

Depends on genre, I think

[Richard White]

My paperback fantasy book was stocked anywhere from three months to fifteen months in the Balto-DC area. (just bought the last two in the Ellicott City Barnes and Noble for gifts two weeks ago and it came out in June 2004).

It varies by shelf space, interest and inertia.

I don't think there's any solid way to answer this.

[Jamesaritchie]

My paperback fantasy book was stocked anywhere from three months to fifteen months in the Balto-DC area. (just bought the last two in the Ellicott City Barnes and Noble for gifts two weeks ago and it came out in June 2004).

It varies by shelf space, interest and inertia.

I don't think there's any solid way to answer this.

It varies mostly with interst in your book, and with location.

But nationwide, three weeks is about average for how long a paperback stays in bookstores, and three months is about it for hardcovers. As long as the book is selling well, it stays in stores, but if it isn't selling well, it has to go.

Bookstores have very limited shelf space. There is no empty space in a bookstore, and a new shipment of books, a massive shipment of paperback books, arrives about every three weeks. When these new books come in, the old books have to go to make room for them.

If you live in an area, the book should stay in bookstores much longer. If the book is still having a good turnover, it will stay in stores until the sales stop.

But if your paperback isn't selling, it will, on average, have three weeks to start selling on a nationwide basis.

If your book isn't making a buzz, it leaves nationwide bookstores in a hurry, and once this happens, odds of it becoming a bestseller are almost zero.

[Diana Hignutt]

My experience as a onetime small press industry insider suggests that you can market the average small press title as new for one year or less. I was still getting radio interviews for my first book after one year, however.

[emeraldcite]

Fiction that doesn't pick up sales and earn a decent sell-through, or isn't projected to, might not last long. The buzz can pick up any time. You never know when suddenly it will click with an audience. But if stores stop shelving it because the publisher stops producing it, well, you're SOL.

[Jamesaritchie]

Fiction that doesn't pick up sales and earn a decent sell-through, or isn't projected to, might not last long. The buzz can pick up any time. You never know when suddenly it will click with an audience. But if stores stop shelving it because the publisher stops producing it, well, you're SOL.

A book can pick up a buzz at any time, but availability is a key issue. My books have generally stayed alive at least three years, but I know from experience that buzz doesn't help much if people can't walk into a bookstore in Anywhere USA and pick up your book.